On 9 June 2023, both Regulation 2023/114 on markets in cryptoassets (MiCA) and Regulation 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain cryptoassets (recast revised WTR) were published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ). The recast revised WTR enters into force 20 days after its publication in the OJ (29 June 2023) … Continue Reading
On 2 June 2023, the Council of the EU published the adopted text of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in crypto-assets and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937. The text is dated 31 May 2023. The next step is for … Continue Reading
On 2 June 2023, the Council of the EU published the adopted text of the Regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets and amending Directive (EU) 2015/849. The text is dated 31 May 2023. The next step is for the Regulation to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. It … Continue Reading
On 31 May 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a Consultation Paper setting out proposals to amend its guidelines on customer due diligence and the factors credit and financial institutions should consider when assessing the money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk associated with individual business relationships and occasional transactions (ML/TF Risk Factors … Continue Reading
On 16 May 2023, the Council of the EU issued a press release announcing that it had adopted the Regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). The Council adopted its negotiating mandate on MiCA on 24 November 2021. Trilogues between the co-legislators started on 31 March 2022 and ended in a provisional agreement reached on 30 … Continue Reading
This note provides a high-level comparison of some of the key areas of MiCA and the HMT Proposals. It is relevant to participants in EU and UK cryptoasset markets, including service providers and issuers, as well as institutional and retail investors. Readers should note that, since neither regime has been finalised yet, there may be … Continue Reading
On 21 December 2022, the Dutch Minister of Finance (the Minister) provided an update on the European Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) to the Dutch Parliament. The text of MiCAR is currently being finalised and translated. MiCAR will be applicable 18 months after the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, 18 October 2022, the European Commission (“the Commission”) published a communication setting out an EU Action Plan for Digitalising the Energy System. Amongst initiatives focussed on improving the functioning of the EU’s energy markets, such as the creation of a common European energy data space, improving strategic European coordination for energy markets, promoting … Continue Reading
On 5 October 2022, the final compromise text of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was published. In this context, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) published a news item stating that DNB welcomes this new regulation of the European crypto markets. According to DNB, uniform rules for crypto markets are important for … Continue Reading
On 11 October 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a consultative report which sets out a number of proposed recommendations to promote the consistency and comprehensiveness of regulatory, supervisory and oversight approaches to crypto-asset activities and markets intended to strengthen international cooperation, coordination and information sharing. The recommendations apply to any type of crypto-asset … Continue Reading
On 6 October 2022, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) published a news item in which the regulator comments on transactions taking place between crypto service providers registered in the Netherlands and crypto service providers based outside of the EU which are not registered (non-EU crypto service providers). DNB indicates that when a … Continue Reading
On 11 July 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a statement on international regulation and supervision of crypto-asset activities. Key points from the statement include: Crypto-assets and markets must be subject to effective regulation and oversight commensurate to the risks they pose, both at domestic and international level. Crypto-asset service providers must at all … Continue Reading
On 7 July 2022, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued its Crypto-Asset Roadmap for 2022-2023. The Roadmap sets out IOSCO’s policy agenda and work program for the crypto-asset sector over the next 12 to 24 months. Earlier this year IOSCO established a board-level fintech taskforce (FTF) which was mandated to develop, oversee, deliver … Continue Reading
On 30 June 2022, the Council Presidency and the European Parliament reached provisional agreement on the Regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). MiCA is part of a broader package of measures to boost digital finance in the EU. The package also includes: A regulation on digital operational resilience (DORA) was agreed in March. DLT pilot … Continue Reading
On 21 April 2022, the Council of the EU published a table regarding the proposed Regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (recast). The table has three columns setting out the European Commission’s proposal and the European Parliament and Council mandates.… Continue Reading
On 1 April 2022, the Council of the EU published a three-column table to commence trilogues on the proposed Regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). The table shows the position adopted by the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council on MiCA.… Continue Reading
On 14 March 2022, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) published a press release on the European Parliament’s website regarding new rules on cryptocurrencies in the EU. The press release reports that members of European Parliament (MEPs) have agreed on draft rules concerning the supervision, consumer protection and environmental sustainability of cryptoassets, including … Continue Reading
On 16 February 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its report, ‘Assessment of Risks to Financial Stability from Crypto-assets’. The report examines developments and associated vulnerabilities relating to three segments of crypto-asset markets which are, unbacked crypto-assets, stablecoins, and decentralised finance and crypto-asset trading platforms. The report also highlights a number of vulnerabilities associated … Continue Reading
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis have recently published the results of research showing that there has been a huge increase in the use of decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols to launder money over the last year. DeFi is an emerging financial technology based on secure distributed ledgers similar to those used by cryptocurrencies. In 2021, there was … Continue Reading
On 19 November 2021, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) published for consultation a Q&A addressing crypto service providers’ compliance with the Dutch Sanctions Act 1977 (Sanctiewet 1977). DNB notes that in addition to money laundering and terrorist financing risks, executing crypto transactions and providing crypto services also involve risks of violating sanctions regulations. … Continue Reading
29 April 2021 09:00 – 10:00 BST / 16:00 – 17:00 HKT 16:00 – 17:00 BST / 11:00 – 12:00 EDT As the global crypto-economy continues to grow and mature, one area stands out as a critical core capability: custody. In this webinar, members of our global financial services team will compare notes on their … Continue Reading
On 4 February 2021 the Portuguese Presidency of the Council held a first working group during its term in office to continue Member States’ discussions over the proposed regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). Two main issues on the agenda included discussion on selected issues related to asset-referenced tokens (ART) with payment purposes and those … Continue Reading
In September we published a blog setting out 10 key things that firms needed to know about the draft regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). We have since published an update on what’s been happening and as we continue our close monitoring of the key developments regarding the MiCA review, in this blog we provide … Continue Reading
On September 24, 2020 the European Commission published its long-anticipated Digital Finance package, comprising legislative proposals and non-legislative communications. One of the legislative proposals published included a draft regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). MiCA is the first European-level legislative initiative aiming to introduce a harmonized and comprehensive framework for the issuance, application and provision … Continue Reading
